Adjusting mechanism for blades of fluid flow machines, especially torque converters



Sept. 1, 1964 K. HANSELMANN 3,146,626

ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR BLADES 0F FLUID 110w MACHINES, ESPECIALLY TORQUE CONVERTERS Filed Aug. 51, 1960 United States Patent 3,146,626 ADJUSTING MECHANISM FOR BLADES 0F FLUID FLOW MACHINES, ESPECIALLY TGRQUE CDNVERTERS Karl Hanselmann, Heidenheim (Brena), Germany, as-

signor to J. M. Voith G.m.b.H., Heidenheim (Brena), Germany Filed Aug. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 53,284 Claims priority, application Germany Sept. 19, 1959 4 Claims. (Cl. 74-96) The present invention relates to an adjusting device for blades of fluid flow machines which have the blade studs arranged parallel to the axis of rotation of the machine, and in which said blade studs are respectively connected by intermediate members to a control ring common to all of said blades and adapted to be rotated for adjusting said blades. While not limited to, the adjusting device according to the present invention is particularly suitable for, torque converters according to the fluid flow principle.

It is generally known, for instance with blowers, to effect the adjustment of the runner blades by means of a centrally arranged control ring and by means of adjusting levers. One end of these adjusting levers, which is ball-shaped, engages in a universally movable manner recesses in the adjusting ring while the other ends of said adjusting levers are rigidly connected to the blade studs by means of pins.

In connection with turbo torque converters a similar adjusting device has become known for adjusting the position of the guide wheel blades. According to this arrangement, each of the blade studs has clamped thereon an adjusting lever with a split hub which lever is additionally secured against turning by a pin. The other ends of such levers are guided in grooves by means of bolts rotatably connected to an adjusting ring.

Other heretofore known blade adjusting devices, especially those used in connection with water turbines, have each blade and adjusting ring therefor interconnected by two connecting elements namely a blade lever and a 3,146,626 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 in which the blade studs are parallel to the axis of rotation of the machine and in which said blade by means of adjusting levers movable in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the machine are connected to a centrally located adjusting ring which is common to all adjusting blades and is rotatable for purposes of adjusting the blades. In conformity with the present invention, one end of each adjusting lever is rotatably linked to the adjusting ring, whereas the other end of each adjusting lever is displaceably guided in the blade stud of the respective adjustable blade pertaining thereto, and, more specifically, in a bore, groove or the like extending perpendicularly with regard to the axis of the respective stud.

According to a particularly simple construction of the adjusting lever, the latter is made of profiled or structural steel as for instance flat steel. Furthermore, it is advantageous so as to design the adjusting lever that it comprises a straight lever arm and an adjacent loop or ear-like end portion extending around a bolt on the adjusting ring.

Structural Arrangement FIG. 1 illustrates a turbo converter 1 with variable input with a guide wheel 11 which is stationary in view of a hollow shaft 11a, said guide wheel 11 being provided with til-table blades 2. The said turbo converter link. Also gears or gear segments have been suggested :1

for this purpose.

However, all of the above mentioned heretofore known adjusting devices are rather expensive, costly to manufacture and are employable only to a limited extent for economic reasons, particularly if a mass production of fluid flow machines is involved as is the case for instance with torque converters according to the flow principle.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a blade adjusting arrangement which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a blade adjusting arrangement for blades of fluid flow machines, which will be rather simple and inexpensive to manufacture and can easily be installed.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a portion of a longitudinal section through a turbo torque converter having its adjustable guide wheel blades equipped with an adjusting arrangement according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates on a somewhat larger scale than FIG. 1 a section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a slight modification of the adjusting lever of an adjusting arrangement according to the invention.

General Arrangement As stated above, the present invention concerns a blade adjusting arrangementfor turbo torque converters is furthermore provided with a primary part 14 having a blading 12 and driven through a hollow input shaft 13. The said turbo converter furthermore comprises a secondary part 16 with the blading 15. The torque is through a spin gear 17 conveyed from the secondary part 16 having connected thereto a cup 16a for reducing the outflow of the working fluid. A control ring 4 is journalled on hollow shaft 11a and is connected to a wheel 18 provided with a handle 19. Connected to the adjusting ring 4 are bolts 8 which are parallel to the axis of rotation of the turbo torque converter. Rotatably journalled on said bolts 8 are loop or ear-like end portions 7 of adjusting levers 5 which according to the particular embodiment shown in the drawings are made of flat steel. The straight section or lever arm 6 of the adjusting lever 5 rests in fork-shaped ends of the blade studs 3 of the adjustable guide Wheel blades 2. By guiding the hand Wheel, the guide wheel blades 2 are tilted thereby controlling the input power of the converter.

According to a particularly favorable embodiment of the invention, the preferably ear or eye-like end portion of each adjusting lever is resilient so that it surrounds the connecting element pertaining thereto such as the bolt on the adjusting ring, under pre-stress. Furthermore, it is advantageous if also the straight section of the adjusting lever will have a spring effect. More specifically, with reference to FIG. 2, the resilient ears 7 of the adjusting levers 5 are, under slight pre-tension, rotatably guided on the bolts 8 connected to the adjusting ring 4. Such an arrangement makes it possible in spite of the fact that no high precision has to be met as to manufacture and installation, that all blades will be able properly to close because the resilient lever will allow a certain yieldability during the adjustment. Moreover, the resiliency of the ear-like lever ends permits a completely play-free fit of the adjusting levers on the studs of the adjusting ring.

The axial location may be assured by a spring ring 10 or the like mounted on the blade studs 3 of the adjusting blades 2 or on bolts 8.

If it is desired to adapt the torque converter to other operational conditions by varying the position of the guide wheel blades, it is merely necessary from the outside to rotate the hand-wheel of the adjusting or control ring 4. During such adjustment, the bolts 8 arranged on the adjusting ring 4 move the radial inner ends of the adjusting levers 5 and, since the guide blades 2 are supported by stationary bearings, bolts 8 will turn the blade studs 3. The straight lever sections 6 of the adjusting levers 5 will in this instance slide in the slots of the respective blade studs 3.

FIG. 2 illustrates particularly clearly how the adjusting lever 5 with its ear-like bent portion 7 is rotatably guided on bolt 5 connected to adjusting ring 4. The blade studs 3 are provided with a slot 29 in which the straight lever sections 6 of lever 5 rest.

The modification shown in FIG. 3 of the adjusting lever differs from that of FIG. 2 merely in that the earlike portion 37 is slightly differently shaped. However, the other end 36 is also in this instance straight.

As will be evident from the above, the arrangement according to the present invention is extremely simple and inexpensive to produce and is, therefore, particularly suitable for an inexpensive mass production of blade adjusting devices. In view of the minimum space requirernent for the adjusting levers, the invention furthermore makes it possible to use the adjusting arrangement of the invention also with fluid flow machines of rather small size without risking the danger that the adjusting levers interfere with each other. Finally, the arrangement according to the invention makes possible to obtain a considerable adusting angle of the blades and thereby to assure a large adjusting range of the machine.

By the term profiled steel is meant a member which has one and the same cross sectional shape at every point therealong. Such a member could most easily be arrived at by drawing or rolling the material. This would result in a material having a particularly smooth surface so that no machining of the surface of the material would be required. Thus, the levers or arms, when made of this material, could be brought into the required shape merely by bending them to the proper configuration. This, of course, is a quite inexpensive Way of forming the levers, and represents a substantial saving over the form of levers by fabrication techniques, such as welding or casting and machining, or blanking and forming.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular constructions shown in the drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an actuating arrangement for rocking flow con- 4 trolling blades mounted in the flow path of a fluid flow machine, a plurality of rotatably supported studs, said studs extending parallel to each other in distributed relation about an axis, a ring arranged concentrically with respect to said axis, a lever pertaining to each said stud, each lever having one and the same cross sectional shape at every point therealong, bolts carried by said ring,

one end of each of said levers being formed to a loop configuration on one end and being rotatably mounted at said one end on one of said bolts, a guide in each of said studs extending at right angles to the axis of the pertaining stud, and each lever extending slidably through the guide of the pertaining stud so that each lever is slidably but non-rotatably connected with its pertaining stud.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which said bolts on said ring are parallel to said studs, and each said lever comprises a member rectangular in cross section with the longer dimension of the rectangle extending parallel to the axes of said studs.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which said loop configuration of each lever is formed to a slightly smaller diameter than its pertaining bolt so that the loop end of each lever is under pre-tension on its pertaining bolt thereby eliminating any clearance between each lever and its supporting bolt.

4. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which each lever extends in a straight line from its supporting bolt to its pertaining stud and the straight section of each said lever is resilient in the direction of movement thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 454,983 Mills June 30, 1891 1,484,983 Britcher Feb. 26, 1924 1,877,115 Zipay Sept. 13, 1932 2,287,374 Dodge June 23, 1942 2,305,311 Jendrassik Dec. 15, 1942 2,428,830 Birnmann Oct. 14, 1947 2,637,984 Bloomberg May 12, 1953 2,930,245 Wiggs Mar. 29, 1960 2,955,744 Hemsworth Oct. 11, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 490,851 Germany Feb. 4, 1930 

1. IN AN ACTUATING ARRANGEMENT FOR ROCKING FLOW CONTROLLING BLADES MOUNTED IN THE FLOW PATH OF A FLUID FLOW MACHINE, A PLURALITY OF ROTATABLY SUPPORTED STUDS, SAID STUDS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER IN DISTRIBUTED RELATION ABOUT AN AXIS, A RING ARRANGED CONCENTRICALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID AXIS, A LEVER PERTAINING TO EACH SAID STUD, EACH LEVER HAVING ONE AND THE SAME CROSS SECTIONAL SHAPE AT EVERY POINT THEREALONG, BOLTS CARRIED BY SAID RING, ONE END OF EACH OF SAID LEVERS BEING FORMED TO A LOOP CONFIGURATION ON ONE END AND BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED AT SAID ONE END ON ONE OF SAID BOLTS, A GUIDE IN EACH OF SAID STUDS EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AXIS OF THE PERTAINING STUD, AND EACH LEVER EXTENDING SLIDABLY THROUGH THE GUIDE OF THE PERTAINING STUD SO THAT EACH LEVER IS SLIDABLY BUT NON-ROTATABLY CONNECTED WITH ITS PERTAINING STUD. 